Geithner to regulators: 'Stop your (expletive) turf wars'

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner launched an "expletive-laced" tirade against top U.S. financial regulators in a meeting on Friday, demanding that they halt their turf battles over the administration’s proposed regulatory overhaul, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Frustration apparently has been building in the White House as individual regulators have publicly voiced objections to parts of the plan, including giving the Federal Reserve more oversight of the financial system and creating a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to police lending products.

The regulators’ pushback could pose a threat to any overhaul by giving House and Senate leaders ammunition to challenge the plan.

From the Journal’s website:

Mr. Geithner told the regulators Friday that "enough is enough," said one person familiar with the meeting. Mr. Geithner said regulators had been given a chance to air their concerns, but that it was time to stop, this person said.

Among those gathered in the Treasury conference room were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair.

Other attendees were: Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan, Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler and Office of Thrift Supervision Acting Director John Bowman.

Friday's roughly hourlong meeting was described as unusual, not only because of Mr. Geithner's repeated use of obscenities, but because of the aggressive posture he took with officials from federal agencies generally considered independent of the White House. Mr. Geithner reminded attendees that the administration and Congress set policy, not the regulatory agencies.

Neal Wolin, Treasury's deputy secretary, told the Journal that Geithner wanted to make sure that turf battles didn’t get in the way of fixing a system that badly needed an overhaul.

Wolin wouldn’t comment on Geithner's tone or language, the Journal said.

-- Tom Petruno

Photo: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. Credit: Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

Comments

[LPB]

Pay your (expletive deleted) taxes!

[Judy]

While there may be other ways to deal with this I can understand Mr. Geithner's frustration. He is willing to put himself and ideas on the line to fix the issues that led to the financial meltdown last year and other people ar presenting roadblocks. His reform plan is necessary and will go a long way toward preventing a repeat performance.

The turf battles do need to end. This needs to get done. I understand the outburst and forgive him for the display of anger.

[goy]

S.O.P. for this imperious administration: "We let you say your piece, NOW SHUT UP!!! We WON! We're going to do what we want."

[Lawrence]

He must have gotten some coaching from Rahm.

[HatlessHessian]

Chicago Style makes for great pizza, but for lousy politics. What happened to the new tone of government? Instead of leadership, we've ended up with an administration that has the manner of organized crime thugs selling "insurance" or else to the business community. No wonder Geithner employs the language of a common Mafia thug.

[Does anybody else notice this?]

I just can't understand the guy. It's really odd, but I just can't. I think it's because he has a problem with his speed control when he talks: the words just tumble out at times, with "unimportant" words given almost no enunciation.

[ChicagoShinebox]

haha. Try calling him "Nerd" now, Jon Stewart!

[JS]

Yet another "teachable moment" in the Obama administration.... rookies at the wheel, crash imminent.

[thomas paine]

don't insult the mafia by comparing them to the international banking cartel.

[Donna Cook]

99% of banks did not cause the current banking/economic/housing problems, and yet they want to over-regulate all banks now. It was the larger too-big-to-fail banks and the non-bank entities that made a lot of risky loans. The Banks already have to disclose everything to customers except how many times they go to the bathroom every day; more regulatory requirements that customers won't bother to read is not the solution. Regulating banks and non-banks for their risky loans and products is. A knee-jerk reaction by government is not what we need. They need to listen to the regulatory agencies and banking associations - not become their adversary.

[Simple Facts]

Remember who Timmy worked for before his current handout job. THE FED! Remember, the FED is not owned or managed by our Government. It is as Federal as Federal Express. Learn the truth about that feeling you have, you know the feeling that has always told you that something is really wrong... Start slow, just learn the history of the FEDERAL RESERVE and fractional banking.... WARNING, once you learn this, your mind will really open up....